Organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and (in some cases) sulfur bonded in characteristic formations. Strings of amino acids make up proteins.
A condition marked by a lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin or a shortage in total blood volume, any one of which can produce a lethargic condition.
An enzyme, or some other organic substance, that is capable of counteracting the negative impact of oxygen (which draws electrons to it) on living tissue.
Naturally occurring compounds, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, whose primary function in the body is to supply energy. Included in the carbohydrate group aresugars, starches, cellulose, and various other substances.
A substance in which atoms of more than one element are bonded chemically to one another.
A protein material that speeds up chemical reactions in the bodies of plants and animals.
A type of sugar that occurs widely in nature. Glucose is the form in which animals usually receive carbohydrates.
An iron-containing pigment in red blood cells that is responsible for transporting oxygen to the tissues and removing carbon dioxide.
The chemical process by which nutrients are broken down and converted into energy or used in the construction of new tissue or other material in the body.
Inorganic substances that, in a nutritional context, serve a function similar to that of vitamins. Minerals may include chemical elements, particularly metallic ones, such as calcium or iron, as well as some compounds.
At one time chemists used the term organic only in reference to living things. Now the word is applied to compounds containing carbon and hydrogen.
Large molecules built from long chains of amino acids. Proteins serve the functions of promoting normal growth, repairing damaged tissue, contributing to the body's immune system, and making enzymes.
A group of cells, along with the substances that join them, that form part of the structural materials in plants oranimals.
Organic substances that, in extremely small quantities, are essential to the nutrition of most animals and some plants. In particular, vitamins work with enzymes in regulating metabolic processes; however, they do not in themselves provide energy, and thus vitamins alone do not qualify as a form of nutrition.
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